Horror From Fire Lingers Like Smoke

GARY STEIN Commentary

December 4, 1994|GARY STEIN Commentary

You look at the charred building, you smell the still-lingering smoke, and you wonder how horrible things had to be for the people who lived in the Assisted Living Community Home on Northwest 6th Place.

You wonder how horrible things must have been during the predawn fire that killed five people Thursday morning.

You wonder how things must have been even before the fire, with 19 elderly and disabled people living in a violation-filled group home that couldn't meet state standards.

You wonder about the loneliness of these people who had few, if any, visitors. You wonder what it was like for three or four people to be in a bedroom.

While I was on the street looking at the house, I was wondering all of that. And then I ran into Patricia Chin, who was also looking at the home, a day after the fire, still sealed off by yellow crime scene tape.

Turns out that Patricia Chin doesn't have to wonder as much as I do.

Twice a week, for the past couple of months, she had been inside the home to help one of the patients.

She knew exactly what it was like inside.

"This is the worst place I've seen," Patricia Chin told me.

Last visit wasn't pleasant

Chin is a nursing assistant for Vitas Health Care Corp.

Twice a week, she visited Dorothy Turner, an 87-year-old woman with cancer who perished in the fire. Turner's 50-year-old daughter, Lana, also died in the fire.

Chin, who was near tears as she stood and looked at the building, recalled the last visit with Dorothy, just two days before the fire.

"When I came by, she was laying in her feces," Chin said. "I cleaned it up.

"When she was in bed, she couldn't get up by herself. I had to ambulate her.

"She didn't complain about the pain or anything. She just used to sit up and say, `I want food.' She had a good appetite."

Chin said there seemed to be enough food for the folks at the home.

But there were so many other problems, as the health and safety violations showed.